Monsters
by eclipse-of-my-soul
Summary: When a four year old Cloud breaks his arm and is left alone, what will his brother but not brother Zack do? Zack has to protect Cloud from the monsters that are in his home! What out Cloud, they like blond children!


Oh the sugary sweetness of it all...

I was in danger of getting cavities with this one! It was a close call.

I've always wanted to write something where Zack and Cloud are friends as children. They just seem like they would have been like brothers if they had know each other way back in the day.

-o-o-

As a child, Zackary Fair believed he was the only one fit to be Cloud Strife's big brother. It didn't matter that their parents didn't know each other at first, it didn't matter that Cloud obviously wasn't his brother.

Cloud was his brother, darn it.

And so, when Cloud broke his arm and someone had to watch him at all times to make sure he didn't bother it, Zack was logically the only one for the job. Or so he thought.

Cloud's mother hired a babysitter to watch Cloud when she couldn't be there. Zack never felt so offended on his young, six year old life. He asked his mother, he asked Cloud's mother, but the answer was still the same. Your too young, Zack.

But then a night came that Cloud put his well earned four year old brain to work. His babysitter had left him, telling him that she was going to go meet a 'friend' and they were going to 'play' and she told him not to tell his mom, and that she would be back before his mother got home.

When she left, Cloud went to find the walkie-talkie that Zack had given him with the instructions to just press the button and talk, and then he could talk to Zack, who lived a few streets away.

Cloud followed the instructions he was given and spoke directly into where he had been directed.

"Zack?"

There were a few moments of silence and Cloud began to think that maybe Zack wasn't going to answer.

"Zack!" he called into the device, a little louder this time.

Less than a second later there was static, and then Cloud heard his brother but not brother talk.

"Cloud? Cloud! Hi!"

"Hi, Zack," Cloud replied cheerfully, and then looked around him in fear.

"What's wrong?" Zack's fuzzy voice asked from the speaker.

"I'm 'lone and Mari is gone."

Zack was as angry as he had ever been in his young life. How dare that lady who took his place leave Cloud! Didn't she know that there were big scary monsters that would eat Cloud if he was alone?

"Ok, I'll come over!" Zack called into the walkie-talkie.

"'eally?" Cloud sniffed, getting ready to cry. The house was really scary when he was alone.

"Uh-huh!" Zack said with all the confidence he had. "My mommy and daddy are having a grown up party. I can sneak out."

"Dun get in twoble," Cloud sniffed again.

"I won't! We can talk while I walk over!"

"Ok!"

-o-o-

"Where is he?" Zack's father yelled.

"I don't know, he was in his room coloring and now..." Zack's mother trailed off.

They heard a triumphant yell and looked over at Zack's purple colored room. Angeal, one of the neighborhood kids walked out with a scrap of paper in his hand. He had been brought along when Zack's parents invited his parents over.

He showed them the paper. It looked like random doodles. Angeal, who was familiar with Zack and his antics, could read the paper well.

"What is it?" the man asked.

"It's a drawing of a cloud," Angeal answered, proud of his achievement.

"Yes, and?"

Angeal blinked. "He probably went to Cloud's house."

And suddenly it made perfect sense to the flustered parents. They rushed off to the Strife home.

-o-o-

"Cloud!" Zack called through the door.

Cloud used his four year old smarts to stand on the tips of his toes and turn the doorknob and the lock to let in his brother but not brother. When the door swung open, Cloud went with it, hanging off of it with his one good arm.

Zack rushed in and looked around him. Where was Cloud? Did the monsters get him? He heard a little sniffle from behind and he looked back to see Cloud, holding his head and looking like he was ready to cry.

"Cloud!" Zack cried out, rushing over. "The monsters didn't get you!"

Cloud looked up with watery eyes. "What monsters?"

"The monsters that get little kids when they're alone."

"WHAT?" he asked fearfully.

"They can't get you now. I'm here to protect you," Zack smiled, patting Cloud's blond spikes. "What's wrong with your head?"

"The door hit me..."

"Stupid door!" Zack scolded, kicking the wood, making it swing shut.

He took Cloud's hand and helped him up. He led his little brother up the stairs and to Cloud's room. The hall was dark, so Zack held on extra tight to his blond shadow in case the monsters came. He ran to Cloud's lit room and slammed the door shut behind them.

"There! The monsters can't get us now!" Zack exclaimed.

Cloud smiled up at Zack and tugged on his hand to make the older boy follow him. He led his brother to the paper on his small plastic desk. He picked it up, dropping Zack's hand.

"This is you," he explained, point to a mass of black and purple scribbles. "And this is me!" Cloud's self portrait was done with a highlighter and a blue crayon.

"That's so cool! I wanna draw too!" he yelled.

Cloud smiled shyly, hiding the bottom portion of his face with the picture. "I have more paper and crayons..." he said.

"Well let's get them out! I wanna draw a picture of us too!"

The house was quiet as the young boys drew, but it wasn't as scary as it had been. After all, the monsters could only get you when you're alone. And Zack had a suspicion that they liked blond hair, so he had to be extra careful.

-o-o-

If anyone wanted me to continue, I might just be open to the suggestion.


End file.
